OPINION Why Black History Month still matters

ROSLYN RYAN Richmond Suburban News

As we begin Black History Month this week, there are undoubtedly those among us who will question—some more respectfully than others—the merits of setting aside a specific month to celebrate one race’s story.

It isn’t an unfair question, and to avoid it would be to gloss over that fact that the concept of Black History Month has been criticized by a number of prominent African-Americans, some of whom have pointed out that much of the “history” celebrated during the month of February has been reduced to a handful of sanitized stories that portray people like Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Malcom X as caricatures rather than living, breathing human beings with the same fears, flaws, hopes and disappointments as the rest of us. Unfortunately, the discussion has been further muddied by recent clashes over topics such as critical race theory and bills focused on what teachers should and should not be teaching in K-12 classrooms, both of which have contributed to a social and political climate in which even saying the word “race” has some people sharpening their knives.

Even so, Black History Month must remain a part of our American experience. It is simply too important to do away with. To celebrate black history is to celebrate American history. There is perhaps no other idea that illustrates what the Founding Fathers did right than the fact that they created a nation in which an entire people could move from enslavement to the highest levels of government, business, sports, entertainment and so many other fields in just a handful of generations. The journey from one point to the other was long, brutal and at times showcased some of the worst attributes of man. But the individual stories of that fight—the courage, the tenacity, the patience and the unwavering faith involved—should make every single one of us proud to be an American.

And perhaps that’s what I would say to anyone who questions why we should pay special attention to Black history: Because it is inspiring. Because it touches all of us, every day, regardless of our race. Because it reminds us, better than any other narrative we have, of what is possible.

I do not seek to paper over the deeply tragic and painful parts of the Black American experience that are still being seen and felt today in a hundred different ways. But that is an issue that should have the nation’s commitment and focus every day of the year.

Setting aside time for an annual in-depth look at the Black experience allows and encourages a better understanding of American history as a whole and ensures that those struggles and those triumphs—even when they have been recited hundreds of times—remain a part of our collective consciousness. And that can only be a good thing.